New Britain Herald Newspaper, January 23, 1922, Page 9

Ponthe STAIRS N e | (Continned From Our Lust lssue). “When his door had closed and he was out of the way I rushed up to her; I don't know what I said; T must have been crazed with jealousy and the mystery of it all. 1 do remeémber, though, quite Jdistinctly, that she turned on me in ascold fury, forbade me ever to address her again, and entering her apartment, shut the door in my face! 1 descended, let myself in here alm.st mechanically, and dropped into that chair you're sit- ting In now, sergeant. Cralg was settling back in his chair, with a gesture to Barry when the lat- ter stepped forward. “Mr. Ladd, as I understand it your apartment here is a replica of the one Jjust above studio and all. Have you any objéction to showing us about?" ““Not at all.'” In contrast to that of the dead woman's l.add's studic was hung with rare tapestries and furnished as luxuriously as that of a social dilettante, yet its easel upon which stood an unfinished landscape and the carved refectory table care- lessly covered with paint tubes and smeared cloths showed it to be a workroom no less than hers. “What color do you call this?" Barry picked up a tube, and squeezing | a bit of its contents on the palette, he indicated the blotch of reddish brown. “Burnt sienna,” responded the art- ist, promptly. I seldom use it—you can see there was none on the pal- ette before—but 1 always keep a full assortment of colors on hand. Tt is odd you should have asked me about that!" “Why?" demanded Barry quickly, for the young man's tone had tensed with some sudden emotion. “Well, it is just a trivial matter, but over a week ago—the last time, in fact, that Mrs. Vane and I had a chummy little talk in her_ studio—I advised her to use more burnt sienna with the seal brown to get the proper effect of the wood on the staircase in that portrait of Mrs. Vansittart, the one before which her—her own body was found tonight.” Barry replaced the tube reflective- 1y on the table as Craig, with an evi- dent effort to emulate his colleague, pitked up one of the bottles and sniffed it speculatively. “That's turpentine,” Ladd re- “narked, and his volce had sunk again to a dull apathy. “It's funny about this turpentine.’” Craig still stood by the table. “It's used a8 a cleaning fluid, isn't it? Sieems to me I've smelt that odor somewhere else in this house tonight.” “Naturally the studio above is per- meated with it.” Barry turned away from the window and let the shade drop. “Mr. Ladd, if you'll just show us through the rest of your apartment now we won't trouble you any more tonight."” Barry thanked the artist and bade him good night. In the hall Craig produced a handkerchief and wiped his ruddy brow. “Well, John, we've a nice mess to report at headquarters!” he an- nounced in a low tone that the po- liceman on guard might not hear. “Here's a woman shot dead, and every last,tenant in the house except the professor seems mixed up fin’ it somehow, though every one of them have lied and peached on the rest! Who the devil was this Miriam Vane, anyway? Where did she come from and what were the rest of them to her?"* ¢ “1 think we can guess what Ladd was,” Barry whispered as he led his colleague up the stairs once more. “Just an idealistic young fool who let her play with him like a cat with a mous¢ to please her vanity and then kicked him out when he became {nconvenient. He may have killed.her but I don't think s0; 1 think he would would adored the woman he thought she was, and protected her with his last breath.” “The woman he thought she was repeated Craig, pausing on the stairs in his astonishment. VI “What are we going upstairs again for?” demanded Craig. ve got to make my report at headquarters, and it's getting on toward morning." “You're not going to rouse up old Griswold again, then, and ask him why he lied about his acquaintance with Mrs. Vane?” Barry bent a quiz- zical glance upon the younger ser- geant. “1 am not,” the other announced with decision. “We have young Ladd's word for it that Griswold lied, but neither of them were under oath. They're both under guard and in the morning we'll have them down on the earpet and get the truth out of them." | “That's a good idea,” approved‘ Barry. “And while you are about it you might find out what time little Miss Shaw goes out and let the pro- fessor know. I fancy he'll be waiting to hear.” Craig stared. “Oh, yes; 1 forget that note you slipped under his door. You said something about porch-climbing and ¢hemistry. You're not putting any- thing over on me, John?" “No.” Barry smiled. “I'll put the men on guard outside wise, so that they won't kick up a rumpus if they see him, like a modern Santa Claus, perambuiating the fire escape with his white whiskers wav- ing in the early morning breeze. That note simply asked him to get into the other apartments when he was sure the occupants were gone, and search for traces of a certain chemical com- pound.” “But we'd only just left Miss Shaw's apartment; we hadn’t seen either Griswold's or T.add’s then!” Craig ex- claimed beneath his breath. “You don't suspect her, John?" Barry smiled, but a trifie dryly. Barry waited until the younger ser- geant's footsteps had died away in the quiet night air and then turned to the guard. “Doane, do you now who I am?"” The patrolman nodded. Tt that your orders tonight, Doane, are torkeep guard outside the aparts ment here in which the woman was shot unless you hear any suspicious sound within, or see¢ something which you think should be investigated. Is that so?" “Right, sir,” Doane responded. "Very good. You're going to see and hear something suspicious with- in five minutes, and that something is going to be me! Understand?" “I don't, sir,” Doane replied. “But what you say goes. You mean you want to have another look around the place? I've orders not to let any- body in, but as long as you're taking the responsibility, the lock is smashed and 1 can't see every shadow in this dark hall.” Barry pushed open the broken door, which swung drunkenly on its hinges, and entering the perfumed, littered 1fving room, he found his way to the wall switch and turned on the opalescent lamps. The little writing desk waa open, its profusion of papers scattered on b BARRY CONTENTS MENT. DREW FORTH THE OF THE COMPART- the floor, and the drawers of an al- most priceless Chinese cabinet had been forced. Approaching the latter, Barry ohserved that its contents were mainly scraps of drawing paper on which tiny figures had been scrawled, each with a few deft lines, and pick- ing one up he whistied softly. It was a miniature caricature, cruel in its sharply defined character delineation, of pompous, good-natured Theodore Vansittart, husband of woman whose unfinished portrait stood on the easel in the studio, and glancing over the others Barry found ke caricatures of several people prominent In the social and political life of the city. He was turning away from the cabinet when he noticed something which it was obvious that the detec- tives had overlooked; a small com- partment at the top, with a handle formed by a tiny red-gold dragon, re- mained undisturbed. Barry tugged at the little dragon but it was immovable, the single gilt eye ahove its snout-like nose seeming to wink mockingly at the futility of his efforts. Something about that eye and the curious formation of its socket gave the sergeant a sudden in- "~ _ NEXT WEEK — _FOX— ANNIVERSARY J | ADDED FEATURES NO ADVANCE PRICES Girls! Girls!! This_syrup 1s_different from ell others. Quick"relief. No epiates. 3¢ everywhere PRSI Ses s CROWLEY BROS. INC. PAINTERS AND DECORATORS 267 Chapman Street TEL. 755-12 Fstimates cheerfully ziven on all {obe em——— — remS——— R BRING HOME THE OYSTERS FROM HONISS’S ALWAYS FRESH 20-30 State Street Hartford Telephone 3374—3375 “All right,” Barry broke in. “l1 take the | pencil sharply L) spiration, and taking a blunt from his pocket he pressed upon the globule of gt as upon bell button, Instantly the dragon turned in- ward as upon a spring, the front of the compartment dropped forward on noiseless, unseen hinges and the in- terior of the amall, secret place was exposed, Mentally congratulating himmelf that Doane had elected to remain out- side, Barry drew forth the contents of the compartment in both hands and carried It carefully to a small table, Tt was evident enough at last S wing Do | L DOINGS OF THE DUFFS WELL, DANNY ISN’T MUCH BETTER - | HAD THE DOCTOR COME THIS MORNING AND HE LEFT SOME MEDICINE BUT | CAN'T GET HIM TO TAKE IT- | DON'T THINK TS ANYTHING SERIOUS BUT I'LL GET HIM TO TAKE THE MEDICINE that somewhere beneath the hard, of real lace, discolored now, and too|girl clad In a llght-colored gown surface brilllancy and devilishly clev- | rich in quality for a graduation dress | which made it stand out against what er, bitter humor of the woman [ but it might have been a bit of [appearcd to be a mass of shrubbery there had lurked a humanly sentimen- a4 bridal vell or christening robe onece [in full leaf, At her side and reach- tal regard for eplsodes in her life | upon a time; a lock of short, curling |Ing to above her knee was a blurred that had vanished from the sophis | hair, matted and red-brown; a bat- [object resembling a huge dog, but the ticated present, for there beneath his|tered gold locket without initial or outlines s0 indistinet that hands were clearly mementos of the inseription; an empty cartridge of 44 | breed could not he determined. past, the foolish, faded ohjects, mean- | calibre, and a small snapshot, alike ingless to anyone else, which every|faded and discolored and half torn| woman treasures until memory ceases [across as though someone had start- to have value, |ed to destroy 1t and then though bets | A faded biue satin ribbon, stiff and | ter of it. [ yellowed at the edges, held a knot of Taking up the faded snapshot he Cleveland, O, Jan, 23.~The annual crumbling brown sprigs which must | examined it elosely, Its faint lines|convention of the Retall Credit Men's once have been flowers; a torn scrap showed the figure of a tall, slender | National association will be held here dead were (Continned in Our Next Iss (Copyrignt, 1022, NEA Bervic ") CREDIT MEN TO MEET LY win its | | yune 12th to 16th, inclustve, accord- ing to information to Cleveland mem- bers from D, J, Woodlock, secretary and treasurer of the assoclation, 8t lLouis. 'ATARRH of head or throst w useelly benefited by the vepars of— Y] vieth Used Ye USINESS TODAY IS CROSSING into prosperous times. Experts proclaim it, indica- tions point to it, past experience assures it. The regular traffic between producer and consumer is being resumed rapidly—bridged across by Confidence. Swing the bridge of Confidence down to a straight-away road and keep it there. Business is reviving—as it did after the depressions of 1896, 1904, 1908, 1914. The volume of manufacturing and trade is increasing daily, unemployment is decreasing, loans are expanding. Business is gathering momentum— Space contributed by New Britain Herald, only New Britain newspaper with an audited ecirculation, in co-operation with the ROTARY CLUB PROSPERITY CAMPAIGN, Advertisements contributed by Frank Presbrey Advertising Agency, New York PROSPERITY IS JUST ROUND THE CORNER Darny Cot a Smile All Right HELLO' THERE KID SMILE FOR DADDY COME SMILE AND THEN DADDY IS GOING TO GIVE YOu YOUR MEDICINE ! A THIS ISN'Y BAD TO TAKE ,SON WATCH DADDY HE'S GOING TO TAKE SOME: NOW WATCH! ) DON'T WA TO TAKE VT, LARRED LIS 'BY ALLMAN